Mubashir Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 3: On the last day of her quarantine, she was packing her bags and getting ready to go home. Little did she know that her dreams will come crashing down in a jiffy? Her smiles vanished and eyes swelled with tears when warden said that she might have to spend more time in isolation given the country-wide lockdown.
The 21-year-old girl (name withheld), who is studying medicine in Iran, was among the 40 students and pilgrims who were put under quarantine at Military base in Rajasthan.
The 40 were part of 484 Indians rescued from Iran from March 15 and March 17.
“How can you call it isolation? Twenty people including aged pilgrims are being kept in the same room,” she said.
Though no one has tested positive, four of the pilgrims have been in contact with affected people back in Iran. “If God forbid we test positive, the administration will be responsible. It is like hell. My parents are counting days,” she said.
Till last month it has been a roller coaster ride for the 21 year-old. Her dreams to become a doctor were inching closer. Her parent’s imaginings to see their daughter in bridal trousseau were appearing to become reality.
“Our days are getting longer by the hour. If someone is tested positive here, and unfortunately dies, no one will even touch him,” she said.
When they were evacuated from Iran, they thought their ordeal is over. “We were told we will be put under home quarantine. Instead, we were taken to Rajasthan. In blistering heat, we roam in sweaters because we do not have summer wear,” she said.
Inside the quarantine facility, they have to share the common washroom . “We are being provided masks every day, though we were not given sanitizers,” she said.
A team of doctors conducts daily check-ups. “We have no symptoms. We have been tested negative twice. I fail to understand why we are being kept in isolation again?” she said.
